Wisconsin regulators have paved the way for We Energies to spend about $1.5 billion to build two natural gas power plants in southeastern Wisconsin.

The Public Service Commission of Wisconsin has approved the utility’s plans to build natural gas plants in the city of Oak Creek in Milwaukee County and the town of Paris in Kenosha County. The more-than-$1.2 billion natural gas plant in Oak Creek would essentially replace aging coal units at the South Oak Creek power plant. Two of those units came offline last year, and the remaining two are scheduled to shut down this year.

Meanwhile, the new plant in Kenosha County has an estimated construction cost of more than $270 million. It will complement the utility’s existing peaker plant in Paris. We Energies plans to begin construction this year. Both plants are part of We Energies’ more than $2 billion plan to invest in natural gas infrastructure to respond to expected increases in energy demand in southeast Wisconsin, driven by the development of power-hungry data centers and industrial growth.

(L) City of Oak Creek, Milwaukee County. (R) Town of Paris, Kenosha County. Courtesy of psc.wi.gov.